Portable radiating system



A. A. OSWALD.

PORTABLE RADIATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED AP\R.25, 1919,

Patented June 6,1922,

TRIU COMPANY, INCQRPORATED, 0F NEW YORK, N. YQA CQMQEALTKQJXK? YonK.

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Specification of Letters Eaten? Patented J Application filed April 25, 1919. Serial No; 292,691.

'Toall whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, ARTHUR A. OswALn, acitizen of the United Satates; residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Radiating Systems, ofwhichthe following is a full. clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to -a radiating s stem for use on a moving vehicle and has par-' ticular reference toantennae for aerial v s' sels such as aeroplanes and the like. A e'a-i ture of the invention. relates to the ,connection of trailing wires to the. aeroplane or the like in a manner that is mechanically adapted to the structure and motion otthe machine and at the same time is electrically eiiicient for radiating and receiving energy. Heretofore it has been the practiceto use a single trailing wire as an antenna for an aeroplane. and is released as desiredwhi'le the machine is in flight. To securethe necessary electria cal properties the wirehas to have a considerable length and to aid in unreeling the wire and for causing it' to trail properlva weight is attached'at the end. The reel is conveniently mounted within .reach of the operator. which means t-hat the trailing wire is in such position as to be liable to come into contact with somepart ot the aeroplane it any'complicat-ed manoeuvring of the machine isatteinpted. Such contactmightendang'er the machine either from the mechanical or electricaliefl'ects, such as by becoming entanglcdl with the machine or causing sparks. to pass betweenthe wire and the con- 1 ductlng portions of the mach ne. This type of antenna is especially unsuited for. use

where "several -machines are operating together as. for instance; in squadron tormation. bothon account of the great length of the wire'and thepresence of the weight. and because the machine must be. tree to execute complicated movements. In addition the-single trailing wire hasa very marked directional.property which is not alwaysv desirable.

To overcome these faults a pair of trailing wires attached near the extremities of the wings have been advocated. one wire being used as antenna against the other as a couu terpoise; These wires are of small gauge. are unweighted and no reel is provided for them, but they are permitted to trail when The wire is wound on a reelthe machine is either on the ground or in the air and their mounting on the wings leaves them clear ot'the machine, so that they do not interfere with its 'rnovements.

However th electrical properties of two such wires when one was used as an antenna again tthe other as counterpoise, were.

form to he unsatisfactory for practical operation. This type of antenna was found incapable of any practical communication with a ground'stationjeither for receiving or sending. Among other defects noted. large losses were found to occur. probably being dielectric losses or absorption d ue to thecapacity' effects of the wires and their necessaryconnecting leads relative to the metallic frame of the machine.

According to the present invention the two wires attached to'the extremities of the wings or transverse portion of the areoplane. are connected in paraliel as an antenna against the metallic framework of the ma chine as a counterpoise. This method of connection alone was found to give'the desired directional effect for communicating with a ground station. but the energy ios s were still found to be very large. .ihCCOlftb' ing to a further feature of the invention. the trailing wires and the leadingyin wires are given a considerable spacing relative to every part of the metallic framework of the machine by properly proportioned insulat ing supporting means. and the capacity of the wires relative to the frame structure is thereby reduced. With this provision the ei'iergy losses are reduced to a. negligible value. This form not only maintains the desired mechanical characteristics of the two trailing wires but has proven in practice to have satisfactory operating characteristics as a radiating and receiving antenna. the directional property of the antenna liieing less marked than in the case where a single trailing wire used.

In th mlraiving. Fig. 1 is a plan view of veniently be cords of non-conducting material and in practice may be several feet in length. Other supporting means 8 similar to themeans 6 may be provided,

Rigid supporting arms 9 are shown near the center of the leading-in wire 3 and the connection to the radio sets (which are not shown but which would generally be in the fuselage 10) may Conveniently be made from the portion of wire 3 included between supports 9 as indicated at 11. The ground connection of the radio sets is connected'to the metal framework and other metal parts of the machine, some of which are shown at 12, which are preferably electrically connected together to serve as counterpoise. Instead of the flexible supporting means 6 rigid insulating means could, of course, be employed. The arrangement of connection may also be varied in other respects, according to the conditions of use.

It is to be understood that the numerical values given are for illustrative purposes only and that the invention is not to be limited thereby. Also the invention is not limited to use on an aeroplane but might be used on other types of moving vehicles. Nor is the invention to'be limited in other respects by the showing, but onlyv by the scope of the appended claims. i

'hat is claimed is:

1. An antenna for an aeroplane or the like having a metallic structure, said antenna comprising a plurality of trailing wires supported from the outer portions of thewings of said aeroplane and connected in parallel relation against said metallic structure as a counterpoise. V

An antenna for a propelled vehicle with a metallic structure, comprising a plurality of i ely trailing Wires symmetrically spaced to be clear f said vehicle,

and means forconnecting said wires as an antenna against the said metallic structure as a coilnterpoise.

3. An antenna system 'for an aeroplane having wings and a metallic structure, comprising a pair of trailing wires attached near the extremities of said wings and con 'nected together as an antenna against said structure as a counterpoise; 4. A traveling electrical radiating system comprising a vehicle having a transverse portion and a metallic framework, a plurality of trailing conductors attached to said transverse portions-at points symmetrically disposed with respect means for connectmg said conductors m parallel as an antenna against said metallic framework as acounterpoise.

5. A traveling electrical radiating systo said vehicle, and

tem comprising a vehicle having a trans verse portion and a metallic framework, a plurality of trailing conductors attached to the extremities of sa d transverse portion,

.and means for connecting said conductors in parallel as an antenna against said metallic framework as a counterpolse.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 24th day of April A. 1)., i l I ARTHUR A. OSWALD 

